We love to collect chestnuts in the forest but often we do not know how to prepare them, Marion Sauveur gives us her tips in the morning of Europe 1. 

Autumn is here, we are picking parties in the woods.

And if mushrooms are the inveterate stars of the season, chestnuts are not left out, especially in the Cévennes (14% of them are produced there).

But how to consume and preserve them?

Marion Sauveur gives us her advice. 

The traditional method 

"In the Cévennes, the chestnuts are dried. They are dried in a building called a key. A key is a traditional dryer, it is a building which is made of dry stone with a lauze roof therefore made of stone" , explains the beaver, Émilie Manifacier Peyric at the microphone of Marion Sauveur.

"They will dry between 5 to 7 weeks quietly thanks to a small fire, a small heat between 20 and 23 degrees and which will dehydrate the chestnut."

They are then shelled and stored… They are then transformed into flour for cooking or in a soup called "bajanat", a typical dish from the Cévennes. 

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At home 

The preparation of the chestnut takes a little time, but nothing very complicated or very long when you know these few tips ... Start by washing and sorting them.

Immerse them in cold water and remove any that float: they are dry or hollow.

Proceed to peeling.

To grill them in a pan, open the bark slightly with the tip of a knife.

Once cooked, they will open on their own.

For cooking in water, notch the lunula (the lightest part) on both sides.

Immerse the chestnuts in cold water and wait 3 minutes after boiling.

Drain them and run them under cold water;

the bark and the small bitter skin come off with a simple pressure of the fingers.

You can then enjoy them with seasonal vegetables such as pumpkins.